If you've ever dreamt of designing your own drum kit from the ground up, incorporating pieces from your favorite drummers' kits, or you've wished you had a professional session drummer at the ready to sit down and work out complex drum parts to fuel your next project, virtual drum software is exactly what you need. In addition to building custom drum kits, which can often be triggered by pads or an electronic kit, and thousands of editable loops, many virtual drum software packages offer the ability to tune the drums up and down, and the ability to make virtual microphone adjustments. This means you have the ability to produce, perform, tech, and engineer the session all from the comfort of your favorite chair, couch, taxi or airport terminal.

Native Instruments, Toontrack and Sonivox are just a few of the top-quality producers of virtual drum software packages. Many offer expansion packs that are genre specific, and sometimes include free download codes for your first sound sets. This practice allows you to select sounds that you're most likely to find useful, and keep the price of the program itself down.

Many of these music production software packages also come in student editions, so if you're taking post-secondary courses, you can get a version that's a bit better tailored to your uses and your budget. There are even upgrades, so if you already own an earlier version of those programs, you bring it up to date without having to buy it all over again. No matter your level of experience, there's a software suite that will give you the editing tools you're looking for. Take your time to read up on each one you're considering—with something you'll be working with this closely, it's worth doing your homework to be certain you're making the right choice.